Consumers typically desire their clothes to feel soft after they have been washed. To meet this need, detergent manufacturers may add silicone, a known “feel benefit” active, to detergent compositions. Typically, when fabrics are washed in such compositions, at least some of the silicone deposits on the target fabric. Higher levels of silicone deposition generally correlate with improved softness benefits.
However, when fabrics are washed with a detergent composition that comprises silicone, some of the silicone in the wash liquor may not deposit on the washed fabric and instead goes down the drain with the excess water, thereby wasting the silicone. This problem is particularly acute in conventional detergents that comprise silicone. Without intending to be bound by theory, it is believed that the surfactant in the detergent contributes to the decreased silicone deposition efficiency.
Detergent manufacturers may attempt to improve the deposition efficiency of silicone by formulating the detergents with cationic deposition polymers, which facilitate the deposition of silicone onto the target fabric. However, even with the use of a cationic deposition polymer, a meaningful amount of silicone fails to deposit on the target fabric.
In view of the above, there is a need to improve silicone deposition efficiency in detergent compositions that comprise surfactant. It has surprisingly been found that by carefully selecting the ratios of surfactants in a detergent composition that also comprises certain cationic deposition polymers, silicone deposition is improved.